The works of artist Wang Yuyang encompass numerous mediums, from installation, photography, video all the way to painting, each with an intensely analytical and speculative air. He often makes use of humour and virtual marvels in order to simulate the presence of some kind of material entity. The artist does this in order to give expression to the human form and explore the relationship between experience and cognition. At the same time, the artist investigates artificial reality, the media and the logic between the perception of history and physical identity.

Wang Yuyang’s work Let There Be Light is a creation brought about by appropriating the opening lines of the Bible- “And God said: Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” The artist converts the command of “Let there be light” into a series of binary zeros and ones, controlling the shutter of a camera. The zeros and ones represent “on” and “off” respectively.

In this interactive installation, a camera with its rear casing removed is mounted upon a wall. As the audience enter the darkened exhibition hall, they will be able to see light flashes of varying speed and intensity. By using specially made thermal sensors, the cameras will capture the appearance of the audience and activate the camera’s shutter. In a certain sense, in this space the audience become a ceaselessly exposed photographic negative. In this space, the explanations of light found in nature, religion and science all converge, whilst at the same time acting upon the body of the viewer. Wang Yuyang has thus used altered computer code to recreate his own version of the divine illuminating light at the origin of all things in creation.

(Edited by Lijie Wang & Miao Zijin)